Press 1 to Be Targeted

Customers calling American Express’ toll-free numbers to activate their new cards don’t realize it, but they’re setting themselves up to be easily cross sold other products and services.

Database telemarketing, automated caller identification and interactive voice response (IVR) technologies such as phone menus are used in tandem to target more than 20 financial products and services for American Express Travel Related Services Co. Inc. Andy Cvitanov, vice president of external enterprise management, says the company has achieved a conversion rate 200% above goal since it began using IVR technology for cross selling to customers last year.

The technology – developed seven years ago as a fraud prevention tool – was previously only used by Amex for activating recently mailed credit cards. Now, products and services pitched to inbound callers include additional credit cards, flight and baggage insurance, credit insurance and a card registry for lost or stolen cards.

American Express works with three teleservices vendors networked together to automate the process. Omaha, NE-based Call Interactive handles the IVR component. (Cvitanov declined to identify the two teleservices agencies where inbound calls are answered by 450 agents.)

All inbound calls are routed through the IVR phone menu and caller identification systems before the computer at American Express determines whether or not to target that particular customer for cross selling. Inbound callers are automatically identified by cross-referencing the customer’s card number and number of the telephone where the call is originating. If the customer is calling from a phone number not familiar to the company’s computer the call must be answered by a live representative.

Using the database, the computer can automatically determine whether to route calls to an English- or Spanish-speaking teleservices agent, says Sue Riedman, director of marketing at Call Interactive. American Express uses the customer’s account number to differentiate between personal and corporate cards for targeting purposes.

“The database indicates whether a person is eligible for cross selling,” says Felix Carbullido, customer operations manager at Call Interactive, noting the scripts for telesales agents pop up on computer screens accordingly.

The process appears seamless to customers and teleservices agents answering inbound calls for American Express; it takes less than one second for selected inbound callers to be automatically transferred to live agents responsible for closing sales.

Cvitanov says Amex uses its vast database records to automatically analyze market segments and target inbound callers using demographics such as credit history and spending patterns. The statistical modeling is done in-house at American Express to target 10% to 20% of inbound calls for cross selling.

“To me this is a normal part of business, but most companies don’t have the database capacity to design and implement a program like this,” he adds.

The system automatically determines if a live rep is available to take a call and the customer will not notice any hesitation. If there is no live rep available the call automatically goes through the IVR and the card is validated or activated, Cvitanov says. At this point the computer already has matched the number where the call is originating with customer account records in the database, which verifies the card was received and then activates it.

When the calls are transferred to teleservices agents they can say, “I see your records indicate that you do a lot of traveling. Are you aware that American Express offers baggage insurance?” or make whatever offer seems appropriate for that particular customer, Cvitanov says.

By using the database to make product offers when customers initiate the calls, the offers seem more like a customer service than a promotion, so callers are generally more receptive to whatever products or services are being discussed, he notes.

In essence, American Express makes the inbound calls function like an outbound sales call without annoying the customer.

“It shows you care about a customer by not trying to sell them something that doesn’t fit. And you’re talking to the customer in a time frame that’s acceptable to them, by not interrupting their lunch or something else,” he says.

Looking ahead American Express recently began conducting pilot tests for cross selling, without using the IVR technology, for inbound calls from cardholders with customer service questions. The company may also begin beta tests for conversational speech recognition by the end of summer.